how to grow orange tree from seed |
Have you ever wondered if you wanted to pick a fresh orange from your own tree inside your home?
Are you worried that the orange tree needs enough space and weather to grow?
Wherever you are in the world is yours You can easily plant an orange tree at home by learning the method of making this orange tree from seed .
If you want to learn how to grow orange trees easily at home! Below are 14 simple ways. These tips will make orange growth easy, simple and affordable!
Orange is a tree that can not only decorate a room, but also bring a harvest of juicy fruits. It is not difficult to grow a plant from a seed, but it will not be possible to make it bear fruit before reaching 8 years without additional effort. And if you graft a tree from a fruiting orange, the first harvest with proper care can be obtained already in 3-4 years.
How to grow an orange from a seed and get a bountiful harvest, we will tell you in this article.
How to grow a juicy orange from seed at home
Not every variety is suitable for growing oranges at home. The most popular is the Merheul orange, whose seeds sprout quickly. An adult tree grows up to 1 m. The yield is about 40 fruits per season. Other varieties that allow you to get a harvest of home oranges:
- Gamlin (1.5 m high, fruiting in autumn);
- Washington (2 m, large fruits);
- Pavlovsky (1 m, long fruit ripening).
But choosing the right variety is not enough. It is also necessary to comply with the planting dates and the rules for growing an orange from the seed at home, be able to form a crown and do not forget to apply fertilizers in a timely manner.
Growing an indoor orange tree
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As we pointed out yours, the primary task is to choose a variety. If you take seeds from a store fruit, it is difficult to determine the variety. Therefore, it is better to buy seeds at specialized retail outlets.
Preparing seeds for planting
The orange seed is washed with running water and soaked for a day. At this stage, fertilizers can be dispensed with, since the seeds are treated with germination stimulants before being sold.
Soil preparation and planting
You can plant the seeds all at once in a pot or in disposable cups for 1 seed. It is better to use the soil ready-made, choosing a substrate for citrus in the store. But you can cook it yourself by mixing the soil from the garden with peat in equal proportions.
Planting sequence:
- On the bottom of the pot with holes, lay out drainage from foam, stones or sand.
- Fill the container with earth, ramming lightly.
- Deepen the seeds by 2 cm, leaving a distance of at least 5 cm between them, cover with earth.
- Water the soil, put the container in a warm place, covering it with foil to create a greenhouse effect.
- A month later, tender sprouts will appear. So it's time to move the container under the sun's rays.
Transfer
As soon as the first 4-5 leaves appear, the indoor orange is transplanted into a small pot. If the container is too voluminous, the earth from an excess of moisture will begin to sour. For transplantation, a substrate is prepared from 2 parts of garden land, 1 part of peat and sand, adding vegetable humus. In the future, the transplant is repeated once every 2 years, choosing a larger pot each time. A tree older than 10 years is not transplanted, but only replace about 2–3 cm of surface soil with fertile soil.
Optimal conditions for the rapid growth of indoor orange
Growing an orange from a seed is not easy. This exotic guest loves humid air, abundant light and spaciousness. It is important to comply with all these conditions and at the same time protect the plant from drafts.
The closer the growing conditions to natural, the faster the tree will bloom and bear fruit. The optimum temperature is +15 degrees in winter and +18 in summer, humidity is not lower than 40%. In the heat, the tree is watered every day and taken out into the fresh air. Water must be defended before watering.
Lighting
If the plant lacks light, the fruit will not ripen or taste bitter. However, an excess of light will damage the leaves, so the pot should be placed in the light, but not in direct sunlight. In winter, be sure to provide artificial lighting.
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Temperature and humidity
If, when growing at home, an orange does not comply with the above temperature regime, the fruits will not tie. Moreover, in the heat, the plant's immunity is weakened, the risk of developing diseases and pests increases. When the temperature deviates downward, the growth and development of the culture slows down.
It's also important to remember that the orange is a tropical tree and loves high humidity. If its humidity level drops below 40%, the foliage will fall off.
Watering
Excessive moistening of the earth, especially in winter, leads to decay of the roots and death of the plant. The frequency of watering is selected individually: when the earth dries up, then it's time to moisten. In summer, the tree is watered daily.
Top dressing
You need to fertilize the tree once every 2 weeks, from March to the end of October. This is an important part of orange care. You can feed the plant with a ready-made preparation or a mixture prepared by yourself. In the second case, 20 g of potash, phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers are mixed in a bucket of water. Once a month, a few grains of potassium permanganate are added to this mixture.
Flowering and fruiting
How to grow an orange at home and get a bountiful harvest? The ripening period for fruits lasts up to 9 months, and during this entire period it is important to provide the plant with proper care.
The tree goes to the fruiting stage, when the air temperature drops to + 2 ... + 5 degrees. To provide the desired temperature regime, you can take the plant out of the room to a warmed loggia. At this time, it is important to reduce the frequency of watering and fertilizing, then a period of rest will begin, during which the tree is gaining strength and prepares to form ovaries. After 3 months, in order to stimulate budding, the plant is returned to the room, where the air temperature should be at least +18 degrees. You can speed up fruiting using hydroponics and special feeding.
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Winter maintenance
In the cold season, the tree needs more light and less heat. Therefore, during this period, the backlight is necessarily used. The orange's rest period starts in November and lasts until February. If you do not provide rest to the plant, it will live no longer than 4 years. If everything is done correctly, the tree will live up to 70 years.
Orange seed grafting
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, grafting a plant will speed up fruiting. Due to the complexity of the procedure, it is better to entrust its implementation to a specialist with experience, who will cut a branch from a fruiting orange and graft it onto another citrus tree (lemon, grapefruit, etc.). This crossing will have a positive effect on the yield, size and taste of the fruit.
Crown formation
When checking in practice whether it is possible to grow an orange at home, it is also important not to forget to form the crown. Until the main shoot is stiff, it is advisable to pin the top of the tree. The plant is shortened to a height of 30 cm and re-pruned after it has grown by 15 cm. At least 4 leaves should remain on the main shoot, each of which will give a new shoot. All but 3 strong ones will have to be removed. They are also allowed to grow up to 15 cm in length and then pinched. The procedures are repeated until a beautiful crown is formed.
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Homemade orange pests
When thinking about how to grow an orange at home, you will have to figure out a lot of nuances, including how to protect the tree from pests. The main pests are scale insects and mealybugs, aphids and spider mites. To combat them, you can use folk remedies, but it is better to choose specialized drugs, the rules for the use of which we wrote in other articles on the site.
As you can see, growing an orange tree from a small seed is an achievable dream. The main thing is to create optimal growing conditions, as close as possible to natural ones.
If you want the greatest success in the shortest possible time, fertilize the orange tree immediately after planting.
I only recommend one fertilizer: an organic tree fertilizer.
After applying the fertilizer (according to the instructions on the package), you will want to water it.
Water the orange tree first for about 30 seconds, until the fertilizer dissolves and the soil turns dark brown.
Then repeat this at least once a week. Usually, an orange tree does not need to be watered more than 2-3 times a week.
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